Over The Horizon
by dulscar
Summary: The world is burning and the fire is at your door.  Do you cower and let it consume you?  Do you survive and try to save yourself? Or do you fight back... and risk it all to save the world?  Jalex.  Warnings inside.  Only the summary is 2nd-person


Over The Horizon

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Update: I'm redoing the warning. It was screwing with my word count and that was annoying the crap out of me. Instead, I'll just put an individual warning at the beginning of each chapter.

Disclaimer: (will apply throughout all chapters) I don't own: WoWP {characters, locations, etc}, Resident Evil {Zombies, Hunter, Licker, T-Virus}, Left 4 Dead {Zombie Hoard, Tank}, 28 Days Later {Zombies - "Runners"}, Walking Dead {Zombies - "Walkers"}

(Don't worry, they all obey a strict set of rules, so it won't get 'camp-y') Remember, if there's a critter you'd like to see, let me know before chapter 4-ish.

WARNING: (Overall) This story will contain graphic: violence, language, sex, death, occasional gore, murder, suicide, etc. and is not intended for younger readers. The rating will change from 'T' to 'M' as the situation warrants.

Anything else you need to know will be addressed at the beginning of each chapter. Don't skip these! They will be important.

WARNING: (Chapter): language, violence, mild gore.

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Chapter 1: Communications Break Down... Here we go...

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The Russos ended today like any other. Jerry was busying himself cleaning up the subshop, putting away the condiments and cold cuts, that were still within their expiration date, in preparation of another long day of making sandwiches. Theresa was working at the register figuring out the day's totals, wondering how they were going to get by in an economy that was steadily spiraling downhill. And Max was, well... Max was resisting the urge to eat the leftover bits of food on the tables and play an enthralling game of 'What the hell am I eating?'.

Despite the monotony of the past several months, excitement swept through the loft because today was the first time in two years that any of them were going to get to see Justin's face and hear his voice...

They had received communications from him from time to time but, as of late, his letters home had grown more and more infrequent. And when they did come, an unmistakable sadness and worry were written between the lines of his cheery words.

In his last letter, he had promised his family a video chat on this day at this time and that's where we find Alex.

She is sitting around the family dining table anxiously bouncing her leg, staring at the empty screen, silently cursing Justin for not being connected yet. Don't get her wrong, she knew about the five hour time difference between the U.K. and New York, and she knew that she was seven minutes early, it's just that blaming her worry on _him_, making this _his_ fault, always lessened her anxiety.

She would, if anyone asked, have complained profusely about her parents and how much they whined about missing their 'baby', though, at twenty three, he was hardly a baby anymore. She would've told them that, as of late, her parents had become insufferable with their incessant nagging about where he was or how he was doing, begging Alex to reveal to them what was in the letters he had written just to her...

She would have told that person how annoying her youngest brother, Max, was becoming without Justin there as the mediator and how much Max seemed to be perpetually confused without Justin being there to take the time to explain something to him.

She would've complained about her best friend, Harper, and how she and her boyfriend, Zeke, kept bothering Alex for news about Justin. How they prodded her to 'grow up' and finally start college, any college, and stop wasting her time still living at home.

But what she wouldn't tell that person, any person, was how much she truly misses him. She wouldn't tell them that she was filled by a constant state of dread and worry. She wouldn't tell them about the nightmares or how she would wake in the middle of the night and weep from longing... just to touch him again, to make fun of him again, to argue with him again... to have him hold her and make her feel safe again... She wouldn't tell them that her days consisted of mindlessly working in the subshop, her eyes constantly darting to the mail box just outside, nervously awating his next letter... She just couldn't.

These things she kept to herself...

She's so caught up in her thoughts that she doesn't notice the monitor flicker on and as she absentmindedly chews on her thumbnail, she hears a short burst of static and her eyes glance down.

Her excitement built quickly, her heartrate increasing its pace, and her breath hitched a little when his face briefly flickered into view. "Justin?" she called, a small smile forming on her lips.

"A..ex. ..an ... y.. h..r ..e?" Out of frustation she flicked the 'stupid' laptop because of the broken transmission and called his name again, only louder. "Justin?"

Finally, the monitor came into full focus, the static clearing up, and a bright, genuine smile graced her lips when she saw his face. "Hey, Alex." he greeted. "Hey." she replied. It wasn't that she had so little to say, it was just opposite in fact, she had too much... so many questions, so many things that demanded an answer, all of these flooded her mind all at once and she was just stumped for a minute... and, if asked again, she wouldn't tell anyone what a struggle it was for her to fight off her tears just at the sound of his voice.

"How've you been?" he asked, but the inflection in his voice wasn't one of a brother to a sister... it was more in the vain of a friend, a close friend, that he hasn't seen in a while and missed. And she smiled again. "Good. You?" she replied noncommitally, not letting him know the distress his absense was causing her.

"Same." As she looked at him she noticed some changes to his face. It was lightly stubbled and there were dark circles under his eyes like he hasn't been sleeping well. His hair was longer and it looked like it hasn't been cut in some time and, for some reason, that made her worry even more. What could be happening over there that made him ignore the basic hygiene that he took so seriously only a couple of years ago?

As she looks behind him for a moment she notices some large wooden boxes, dingy and aged, and thinks to herself that he must be in some sort of warehouse. A fairly large one by the looks of it. "Where are you?" she asks, noticing, only then, that she had been stroking his cheek with her thumb... even through a monitor, it still felt nice to touch him again... And when she realized that _that_ thought had just went through her mind, she awkwardly pulled her hand back.

"Oh, well... uhh," he started, looking at his surroundings, "I'm..."

"Mijo!" Theresa interrupted excitedly, startling Alex. "Hey, son." greeted his father, followed by a, "Sup, dude." from Max.

Alex huffed in frustration that she wasn't his sole focus anymore. "You look skinny, Justin. Have you been eating?" Theresa asked. "Yeah, I hear the food over there is pretty disgusting." added Jerry. "I bet a sandwich would be pretty good right now, huh?"

"Where are you again?" asked Max. "Chile, right?"

Jerry, Theresa, and Alex all reached out to thump him at the same time, "Ow!", but it was Alex who spoke first. "No, you idiot. He's in..." but she trailed off when she realized that she wasn't exactly sure where he was at either. "London, now." Justin finished for her. She knew he was somewhere in the U.K. but he never specified where in any of his letters... another thing that worried her to no end.

"Oh." Max continued, still rubbing his head. "But, chili does sound pretty good right now."

Justin chuckled at his younger brother for a moment. "Yeah, Maxie, it really does."

"So, mijo, how are things going over there? Everyone here is so worried about you... even Alex." Theresa asked, moving closer to her daughter, who was currently in the process of wiping the shocked look off of her face. "Am not." she defended lamely while mentally cursing herself for being so obvious about it.

"Oh, please." Jerry added. "We _all_ know you miss him." he said with a grin, nudging his daughter with his elbow.

Alex was about to defend herself again but Max spoke up first. "Pfft. Even _I_ noticed, Alex... And that's sayin' something."

Alex looked back at her older brother and saw the slight smirk on his face, that 'I-told-you-so' grin he wore so often and narrowed her eyes in annoyance at him.

"Well, things are going fine." Justin started, getting the conversation back on track. "I think we're doing alot of good over here. We're making breakthroughs everyday and getting closer to figuring this thing out." he said, but Alex noticed something in his eyes, even through the distortion of a video-conference, that told her he was being less than honest.

"That's good, son." Jerry chimed in. "We're really proud of you for trying to help your fellow man." he said like the proud father he was.

"What about the women?" Max asked... he was proptly thumped again. "Stop doing that!" but he was ignored.

"Sooo, speaking of women," Theresa inquired in that motherly way that clearly states 'I-want-grandchildren', "did you meet someone over there yet?" And for some reason, unbeknownst to her, Alex shifted uncomfortably in her seat and listened intently.

Justin rolled his eyes and groaned. "Mom, c'mon." he whined. "Can we not do this now?" He said, blushing slightly and glancing briefly to his left - an action not unnoticed by his sister.

"Oh, c'mon, son." his father prodded in that same, 'I-want-grandbabies' kind of way, "Spill. Who is she?"

"Yeah, Justin." Alex mocked. "What's wrong with this one? Tail? Flippers? Three eyes? She's secretly a man?"

"Alex!" Justin shrieked. And, God help her, she couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face, nor could she stop the slight flutter of her heart at hearing him call her name like that again. "What?" she replied innocently.

But what she also couldn't stop was the way her stomach knotted when he cleared his throat and said, "There's nothing wrong with her.", confirming that there was, indeed, _someone_.

"Atta boy! What's her name? Tell us all about her." Jerry asked, completely getting off track. Alex just glared at him for a bit while Theresa excitedly nodded... and Max was distracted by a squirrel on the terrace.

"Well, her name's Hannah. And-"

"Ha," Alex interrupted, "as in Hannah's a mannah!" she said, laughing at her own lame joke. "Told you she was a guy!"

Justin groaned and rolled his eyes while rubbing his face with his hands. He opened his mouth to speak again but Max beat him to it. "Hannah Montana? You're dating Hannah Montana? Awesome, dude. She's hot!"

The whole family stopped and turned to Max for a second in confusion. They were about to say something but he seemed to lose focus again... "Hey, Justin," he began, still staring outside, "do you know where we keep the squirrel bait?"

Justin narrowed his eyes for a moment, trying to work out how his little brother's mind seemed to function... the best he could figure, it worked like a Plinko machine... Finally Justin gave up on trying to figure Max out and watched as the family thumped him again. "Okay, you guys have seriously gotta stop doing that. I could get brain damage."

"Not that anyone would notice." Alex replied flatly. Things were quiet for a moment as they tried to find something to say but then they heard something...

Justin had started laughing at the antics of his family. And when Alex heard _that_ laugh, something inside of her snapped and all pretense was dropped. "Please come home, Justin." she said weakly.

Her whole family paused for a moment to look questioningly at her. More astonishing than the 'please' they heard, was the look of genuine concern on her face.

Justin sighed and ran a hand through his hair and told her, "Alex, I can't. Not yet." before offering her a small smile.

She swallowed down the lump in her throat, trying her best to retain her composure, but when he said, "I'm _so_ close. I can feel it.", a single tear finally slipped from her eye.

Ignoring the stares of her family, she didn't even bother to wipe it away and whimpered softly, "Please?", while another tear followed, not caring, for once, that someone saw her as vulnerable.

Justin sighed heavily this time, a look of guilt strewn across his features. "Alex, I'm sorry. I really am. It's just that-" Suddenly Justin flinches and he jerks his head up, his brows now furrowed in worry, his eyes darting back and forth. "Shhh." he tells to someone off screen.

"Justin?" Alex tries to get his attention again. "Shh, Alex, hang on." is the reply she's given. Anxiety grips her further and she bites her lip in nervous anticipation.

For a moment, all is quiet, then, without warning there is a large 'BANG' that causes Justin and the rest of the Russos to flinch. Breathing quickens, becoming short and shallow and hearts are suddenly racing...

Another moment passes and a shrill sound pierces through the speakers... the sound of metal tearing. "Oh, God, no." Justin said with a shaky voice. "They found us."

The Russos look on in dumbfounded silence until it is broken by Alex. "Justin, what's going on?" she demands.

Justin quickly stands and all eyes focus on the gun strapped to his thigh. Quickly, he reaches down and slides the strap forward and in one fluid motion, rocks the pistol back and up, removing it from its holster. "Justin," his father starts to ask, "why do you have-" but he's cut off.

"EVERYBODY OUT!" Justin shouts, leaving the small camera's view. Screams echoing throughout the warehouse reverberate through the tiny speakers of the laptop that Alex is now gripping tightly as more bangs and sounds of tearing metal are heard. "Shit! Get down!" Justin yells, a split second before one of the boxes in the warehouse goes flying past the camera.

The Russos stare in horror at the boxes that were behind Justin as more screams are heard in the distance... All trying to speak and not finding the words, all trying to grasp, but none understanding. "Get them out of here!" Justin commands to an unseen ally.

Gun shots ring out. Loud, single fire and rapid, automatic bursts carry above the screaming and between shots, a roar is heard, deep and gutteral, then glass shatters... The Russos are powerless to do anything but watch. Alex's knuckles turn white from gripping the laptop, her silent tears now turning to sobs of panic, while Theresa clings tightly to her husband and Max watches the screen in slack jawed horror.

"Get off of her!" Justin shouts as five more single shots come cascading through the speakers. A moment passes, "Go, go, go!" he shouts again. "RUN!"

Suddenly a creature passes in front of the camera, dark green and covered in scales. Some...thing, moving toward where Justin seems to be, roars, so loud that the speakers of the laptop crackle, barely able to withstand the volume. "JUSTIN!" Alex shouts as loud as she can to get his attention.

"What was that? What was _that _?" questions her mother, finally able to speak.

"Fuck!" Six more shots ring out and the creature appears to roar in agony before falling silent. "You've gotta move, NOW!" he shouts. Somewhere in the distance, the automatic weapons open up again, seeming to be moving further away.

Glass shatters again, piercing through the other sounds of gunfire and screaming. "Get out. Get out!" Justin shouts somewhere closer to the laptop than he'd been before. "I'll try to hold them off! MOVE!"

Alex heart plummets and her stomach twists upon itself. "JUSTIN, NO!" she yells, "You gotta get out!"

Automatic weapon's fire, so close it crackles the speakers again, opens up. Only fifteen rounds leave the barrel before another scream is heard... but this time, the Russos recognize the voice... It's Justin's...

Blood splatters across the wooden boxes still in view of the camera and, a split second later, a body flies past... Alex weeps, sobs of terror echoing throughout the apartment... she recognizes the shirt, the pants, the hair... she knows who it is.

"JUSTIN!" she cries in desparation.

He shouts out in agony, his voice strangled, blood seems to be in his throat as his cry is slightly gargled.

More shots ring out.

Something seems to have bumped the table. The monitor flickers with static. "JUSTIN!" Alex cries again when the same kind of creature as before stands in front of the grainy picture.

Three more shots crackle the speakers and the creature roars bumping the table again... the video is lost... only static filling the screen... and the last thing they hear before the audio dies is four more shots and the sound of Justin screaming in pain.

"JUSTIN!"

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_Two years earlier..._

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Chapter 2: the outbreak...

a/n: well, there ya go. intense right? and that was just through a laptop! *laughs evily* what a spot to leave it... hope you liked it!


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